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CHICAGO – With his playing time scarce and time running out on his contract, Rockets guard Luther Head was waived on Saturday to beat the deadline for players to be eligible for the postseason.

Head will likely be replaced on the roster by high-scoring NBA Development League forward James White of the Anaheim Arsenal. The Rockets were close to signing White to a 10-day contract, a person with knowledge of the move said on Saturday, and White was held out of Saturday’s game.

Head was the Rockets' first-round pick in 2005 and showed promise as a shooting guard in his first two seasons, but did not develop as a point guard and struggled badly in the playoffs. He was supplanted in the rotation this season by the additions of Ron Artest and Brent Barry and the development of Von Wafer.

"He wants to play and it didn’t seem he would get the opportunity to play a lot there," Head’s agent Mark Bartelstein said. "This is an opportunity to find a team and get a chance to play, maybe to play in the playoffs and to showcase him before he is a free agent this summer."

Bartelstein said he was confident he would be able to find a team for Head, but had nothing set.

Head played in 255 career games in his four seasons with the Rockets, averaging of 8.8 points, 2.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds. Head, who was with the team for Saturday’s game in his hometown, played in only 22 games this season, averaging 4.8 points in 14.6 minutes per game.

"Luther’s been such a good soldier in terms of his day-to day approach as a professional," Rockets director of player personnel Gersson Rosas said. "He’s done everything our guys have asked him to do. This is more about an opportunity for him, where he is in his career, with his contractual status, to get a chance to play with another team and prolong his career.

"He is a talent. He is a special shooter. He needs an opportunity to play. He wasn’t going to get many opportunities with our current rotation and with our current roster. We wanted to do the right thing for the kid to catch on with a team and maybe even play in the playoffs this year."

The Rockets had attempted to find a place for him before the trade deadline, but Head was out with a sore right foot. He had been cleared to play this week.

"Luther has been a great player and representative for the Rockets organization," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "When it became clear he wasn’t going to see minutes in our rotation, he maintained his professional demeanor and continued to work hard every day."